Liquid-proportioning device



Feb. 14, 1939. R. E. BASSETT, JR 2,146,929

LIQUID-PROPORTIONING DEVICE Filed April 2, 1936 Patented Feb. 14, 19392,1463% UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIQUID-PROPORTIONING DEVICE Rex EarlBassett, -Jr., Detroit, Mich, assignor', by 'mesne assignments, toBendix Home Appliances, Inc., .South Bend, Ind., a corporation ofDelaware I Application April 2, 1936, Serial No. 72,31?- g 1 Claim. (c1,ass-12) I In the washing and rinsing of textiles, it is The deviceifor'proportioning the flow of liquid important that the wash and rinsewater beat a intothe chamber from the two lines is preferably. propertemperature. Woolen fabrics suffer ex-' in the form of a gate pivotedin, the chamber cessive shrinkage when they are washed or Ltorselectively blocking the inlets. For posirinsed in water of an impropertemperature, and tioning the gate, there is preferably provided a otherfabrics can be washed more efiiciently' at thermostat, mounted inthechamber to hold the certain temperatures. A device for proportioninggate against deflection by water pressure. It is' the water taken fromthe hot and cold water desirable for the flow'from'each of the incomingsupplies, to provide wash and rinse water of a lines to be substantiallyrestrictedwhenever water proper temperature, is therefore a highlydesiris permitted to'fiow simultaneously through both '10 able accessoryfor a washing machine 7 of the lines. If one of the inlets is alwaysre-.

The principal objector the invention is to prostricted to the samedegree that the other is. vide an eiiicient and reliable propcrtioningdevice opened, so that the combined exposed area of the for use inwashing machines and in other devices two inlets remains constant, andif the outlet 16 requiring water of a certain constant temperapassagefrom the chamber is of suilicient length,

ture. v a steady, even flow is obtained. 1

More specific objects and advantages are ap- In the embodimentillustrated in the drawing parent from the description, in whichreference there is welded to the bottom of a tub iii of a is had to theaccompanying drawing illustrating w'ashing'machine an angle bracket H towhich is a preferred form of liquid-proportioning device. screwed asubstantially cylindrical proportioning 2Q Fig. 1 of the drawingis anelevation, partly in chamber. i2. The chamber, which is preferably asection, showing the liquid proportioning device bronze casting, is openat the top and isprovided attached to the bottom of the tub of a'washingwith acast bronze cover l3 secured by machine machine; screws. Betweenthe chamber and the cover is a Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken onthe line fiber gasket I4. '25 2-2 of Fig. 1; I Two inlet openings on oneside of the chamber Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line aresurrounded by external bosses i5, and'an out- 3--3 of Fig. 1, showingthe top of the liquid-prolet opening on the opposite side is surroundedby a portioning device, and I similar'external'boss l6. Threaded intoeach of Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section show- "the bossesl5'is a nipple l1 forming the body ing a modification. and seat of acheck valve. The valve comprises This specific drawing and the specificdescripa steel ball l8 held outward against its seat by a tion whichfollows are to disclose and illustrate spring l9. Tongues 20 may beturned down from the invention and are not to impose limitations themetal of the nipple to retain the spring i9.

upon the claim. The end of the copper tubing 2i, through which 35 Theliquid-proportioning device of the present the incoming water flows, isjoined with the invention comprises a proportioning chamber nipple H ina water-tight manner by means of a supplied by two lines carryingliquids at different secondary nipple 22. temperatures. The chamber hasan outlet from A similar nipple 23 15 used 170 Seal th j t which anoutlet line may lead to the tubof a between the outlet copper tubing d tt t .49 washing machine, to a shower-bath, or to any boss iii. Theoutlet copper tubing may be condesired device. To regulate the flow of aliquid nected in a similar manner with a shut-off valve from the twolines into the chamber there is pro- 24, from which a nipple 25 leads toa union 26 vided a proportioning device that is controlled by thatconnects it with an elbow 21 welded to the a means responsive to thetemperature in the inlet at the bottom of the washing machine tub 45chamber. i0.

When a shut-off valve or other controlling de- A stud 28 is providedintegral with the bottom vice is provided in the outlet line, it isdesirable of the chamber l2, and has a pivot pin 29 screwed that a checkvalve be provided in one or both of into it. "This pin is provided witha nut 30 the incoming lines in order to prevent water from holding awasher against a shoulder on the pin 5 flowing out of one of the linesand back into the to retain a substantially sector-shaped gate 3| otherline in case the flow from the outlet is reon the pin. This gate ispreferably a bronze stricted and the pressure in one line, provided diecasting. with a check valve, is less than the pressure in the At theouter end of the gate 3| there is proother line. videdan arcuate flange32 that covers one or the 55 other of the inlet openings as the gatemoves from side to side. The middle portion 01' the outer end of thegate, together with the middle portion of the flange 32, may be cutaway. A bimetallic coiled thermostat 33 has its inner end secured to alug u on the stud II. and its outer end secured to a lug 35 on the gate.The coils of the thermostat 33 should be spaced far enough apart so thatany deposit that forms on the coils cannot seal them together. v

A drain cook 36 may be provided at-the bottom of the chamber beneath theouter end of the gate. Depending baiile plates 81 integral with thecover I! prevent the water from impinging directly upon the thermostatas it enters each oi the inlets, and cause itto become-mixed with theother water in the chamber as soon as it enters. The inside of thechamber I2 need not be machined because a slight'clearance may beprovided between the flange l2 and the wall of the chamber. Theproportioning device is, in 1 general, self-cleaning. However, internalbosses 1 38 may be provided around the inlets, as shown in Fig.4, tomake it less likely that depositson the interior of the chamber .-willinterfere withthe operation of the device.- i

In order that changes in temperature may-not cause bindins'rthe gate ispreferably made oi the same. metal as the chamber, or of a metal havingthe same coefllcient of expansion. The ther- V mos-tat does not need tobe adjusted after it ha! been installed, it it is made of the properdimensions and-oi the proper materials to give the desired temperatureof the outgoing water. The thermostat should be sensitive enough so thatit moves the gate from the position in whichcne inlet is wholly open tothe position in which the other inlet is wholly open as the temperaturein the chamber varies within the permissible range of fluctuation. Then,if a slight variation in the temperature or pressure oi the water in oneof the lines occursduring the operation or the device, the gate will bemoved a slight amount into a new position of equilibrium.- V

A proportioning device constructed substantially in accordance withFigs. 1, 2 and 3 was found to be capable of delivering water having acoil about 2 inches'in diameter. The outer layer of the metal consistedof 22% nickel, 3% chromium and iron, andthe inner layer was "made of 36%nickel and 64% iron. Cadmium plating was necessary to make thisthermostat non-corrosive. i a

The proportioning gateremained in a fixed position so long as the waterpressure did not vary; Fluctuations in the pressure of the water causedmomentary oscillation of the gate, but no variation oimore than 2' F. inthe temperature of the delivered water. With theoutgoing line inch indiameter, and 2 feet long, there was no pulsation oi the flow of thedelivered water, even during oscillation of the gate.

The device illustrated in the drawing may be modified, and variousembodiments of the substance of the invention may be devised to meetvarious requirements.

I claim: 3 I v A liquid proportioning device comprising a support havingrigidly mounted thereon a casing section formed with projecting baiiies,a second casing section detachably connected to the first casing sectionand forming jointly therewith a mixing chamber having acylindrical wallprovided with inlet ports arranged respectively opposite said bai'fles,a swinging gate betweensaid bai'iies movable about the axis of said wallselectively to open and close said inlet ports and which is carried bythe detachablecasing section independently of the first'section so thatit may be removed and replaced as a unit with said second section, andthermostatic means in said chamber connected to operate said gate andwhich is also mounted on said second section as a unit therewithindependently of the first section.

REX EARL BASSETT. JR.

